Kombo : : : PS3 | 360 | Wii | Cube | Xbox | PSP | DS | Forums | Podcasts

AROUND KOMBO:
REVIEW
God of War Collection
The PS2 games upgrade to PS3 visuals
REVIEW
REVIEW: LittleBigPlanet PSP
It's fun, but lonely without multiplayer.
PREVIEW
Tony Hawk Shows Off RIDE
Preview of the RIDE and skateboarding peripheral
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Console
PlayStation 3
Publisher
Electronic Arts
Genre
Action / Adventure
Developer
EA Casual Studios
Release Date
06/30/09
5
ESRB Rating
Not Rated
StumbleUpon Toolbar  
Posted by:
Ryan Olsen
Reviews Director
REVIEW
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Snape kills Dumbledore.
July 14, 2009 | 1:34 PM PST

Kombo's Review Policy: Our reviews are written for you. Our goal is to write honest, to-the-point reviews that don't waste your time. This is why we've split our reviews into four sections: What the Game's About, What's Hot, What's Not and Final Word, so that you can easily find the information you want from our reviews.

What the Game's About
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a video game based on the upcoming movie that is sure to get people into the theaters since the series is based on the mega popular books that nearly every literate man, woman and child has read. This game follows the story of the sixth book out of seven. You play as Harry at his school Hogwarts while strange things are happening and you get to the bottom of it all.

What's Hot
Fans of Harry Potter are sure to eat this offering up. You explore a highly detailed Hogwarts inside and out. You talk with many characters from the book and loosely follow the details in the Half-Blood Prince's story. There are a number of places to go and the talking paintings contain plenty of handy shortcuts. You can get a real sense of what it is like to be a student for a day just by playing the game. As you explore more of the Hogwarts grounds, you will find mini-games to play. There is Quidditch to practice and duel clubs to join. All these mini-games offer minor diversions from the main adventure quest.

There is more focus placed on the potions mini-game than on any other. Since the book deals with a potions book Harry gets, it makes sense that there would be some concocting of magical mixes. You must follow the on-screen instructions and select the right ingredients to finish the potion in an allotted amount of time. You'll be shaking and turning bottles into a cauldron quickly to perfect the color and get through all the steps. Out of all the mini-games, this one has got to be the most fun.



What's Not
The game looks pretty but the gameplay is lukewarm. The main adventure is rather dull. Instead of bringing in new elements, the quest will feel like a string of mini-games wrapped around some item scavenging. There are only so many duels to win and potions to mix before the entire process feels like a spin cycle of few ideas trying desperately to make a game.

All the likenesses are of the stars that play Harry and his friends in the movies, but not all the voices are. Some of the replacement voices are acceptable, but many are not. Why the effort wasn't made to get at the very least Daniel Radcliffe, Harry Potter, the star of the game, shows that the game isn't 100 percent up to the high standards the fans of the franchise covet.

Final Word
The Half-Blood Prince is a game that is too eager to show off all its tricks. After some mild amusement, it quickly becomes apparent that there aren't any more tricks to discover and you get looped into a mish-mash of brief gameplay moments that consist of mini-games. It releases at an unfortunate time when movie-based video games are shedding their stigma for being poorly constructed due to time constraints. The Half-Blood Prince isn't terrible, just average.
Visuals
The arm movements for the wand are buttery smooth.
7.0
Sound
The soundtrack is from the movie but the voices don't make use of the star power behind the movie.
5.0
Control
Some spells are difficult to control.
6.0
Gameplay
Lots of minigames strung together.
5.0
Lasting Appeal
There are many collectiables to find if you don't get tired of the gameplay before you finish.
5.0
Verdict
The Half-Blood Prince isn't terrible, just average.
5.0
[not an average]
Review Scores Guide
Screenshot Gallery

June 3, 2009

June 3, 2009

June 3, 2009

June 1, 2009

Got something that we should post on the site? Send it to us!
November 20, 2009
Happy Friday! Check out the new feature content we have available. Thanksgiving is right around the corner! Make sure you think about what you're most thankful for... Also, make sure you become a fan of Kombo on Facebook!!!

-- Ken Cauley, Editor in Chief

Kombo Breaker
FTW
Do you and your family celebrate Thanksgiving?
Vote!
(11/20/09 | 9:55 PM PST)
Supreme Commander 2 Moves Out in March
DiRT 2!!!
  • DiRT 2 for Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3
    Enter to win!
    E-mail us and include your full name, age and mailing address to enter.

  • Software
    Hardware
    All Time
    Weekly
    8.75m Japan
    26.08m America
    21.86m Others
    56.69M 
    1.19m Japan
    19.24m America
    12.94m Others
    33.37M 
    3.89m Japan
    10.32m America
    12.48m Others
    26.68M 
    28.36m Japan
    39.12m America
    46.54m Others
    114.01M 
    13.12m Japan
    17.80m America
    21.88m Others
    52.80M